The present invention relates to a light apparatus, and more particularly to a motion sensor light apparatus which enables the motion sensor and the lens to be installed within its light base so as to eliminate the conventional housing structure and enable the motion sensor light apparatus incorporating with or without a decorative tail piece.
The technical of utilizing motion sensor to receive infra-red radiation from a human being or vehicle within a certain distance has been known for a while. Conventional motion sensor lighting fixture comprises a lighting apparatus, and an infra-red motion detector which is mounted on a mounting case and installed adjacent to the lighting apparatus. The motion detector or sensor is responsive to the infra-red radiation emitted by humans or vehicles and turns on the lighting apparatus when it receives the infra-red from the humans or vehicles within a predetermined distance.
Mr. Lee's U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,118 issued Jan. 25, 1994 disclosed a lighting fixture with motion detector, which improved the deficiencies of the above prior structure that the case and motion detector might appear incongruent yard out of place. An extra housing 15 has been used and locates between a cylindrical light base 17 and a decorative tail piece 18 of the lighting fixture. The housing has a generally curved convexo-convex shape and comprises a generally convex bottom portion and a generally convex top portion defining convexo-convex shape. The generally convex bottom portion has an upwardly curve bottom wall with an azimuthally extending lens aperture 152 formed thereon. An infra-red sensor 121 responsive to infra-red radiation is mounted within the housing in view of the lens aperture 152. A plastic lens member 153 covers the lens aperture 152 and forms to conform to the curvature of the generally convex bottom portion. The lens member 153 has a plurality of Fresnel lenses formed on the inner surface thereof and disposed to direct infra-red radiation to the sensor 121.
Lee's patent enables the lighting fixture, which includes a long, downward extending, decorative tail piece, to incorporate with a motion sensor that will not obstruct the field of view by the tail piece. So that Lee's patent avoids the obstruction problem happened in the conventional lighting fixture. It is obvious that the conventional lighting fixture is only suitable for a design without the tail piece.
Since Lee's patent uses an extra housing to receive the motion sensor and lens, Lee's patent is specialized in a lighting fixture design with tail piece and does not match the design of lighting fixture without tail piece. However, the extra housing must be supplied with the lighting fixture, which adds to the inventory of parts that must be maintained and amount of the product packaging. At the stone time, the cost of the lighting fixture of Lee's patent is unnecessary increased.
Referring to FIG. 1 which illustrates a cross section view of the interior structure of the Lee's patent, electric wires 111,112 are required to connected the motion sensor circuit board 12 and the lamp bulb 13 to an electrical controlling circuitry box 121 which is received in a supporting platform 101, wherein the motion sensor circuit board 12 is mounted on a supporter 14 within the housing 15 and the lamp bulb socket 16 is installed within the cylindrical light base 17 of the lighting fixture 10. The supporter 14 has two screw heads 141, 142 at its two ends 143, 144 respectively and the motion sensor circuit board 12 is stuck between the two ends 143, 144 of the supporter 14. The upper screw head 141 of the supporter 14 connects to the bottom of the light base 17 and the lower screw head 142 of the support 14 connects to the top end of the tail piece 18 by means of a screw rod 19. One end of an electric wire 111 is connected to the motion sensor circuit board 12. The other end of the electric wire must be extended upwardly to pass through the hollow screw rod 19, an upper opening 151 of the housing 15 and a bottom hole 171 of the light base 17 so as to connect with the electrical controlling circuitry box 121 via the light base 17.
In view of the interior structure of the Lee's patent as disclosed above, it is difficult and takes much time to assemble the housing 15, the supporter 14, the motion sensor circuit board 12, the lamp bulb socket 16, and the light base 17, and to electrically connect the motion sensor board 12 and the lamp bulb socket 16 to the electrical controlling circuitry box 121ted with the lamp bulb socket 16 by means of the electric wires 111, 112. Moreover, once the motion sensor circuit board 12 electrically connects with the electrical controlling circuitry box 121, it can not be detached apart without electric disconnection that complicates the reparation of any electric damage and occupies more operating time.
It is well known in art that the higher the lens of a motion sensor lighting fixture located, the larger field of view can be detected. Thus, suppliers and producers of the lighting fixture highly desire to design a lighting fixture with its detecting lens located as high as possible.